Chayote Squash, Peas, Spring Garlic and Almond Cream

5 from 1 vote

Chayote squash, spring garlic, peas, and almond cream. Doesn't sound like something you've had before right? This is a fantastic vegetarian recipe that is perfect for spring.

This is a combination of ingredients I haven’t made before, but it turned out unbelievably well. I wanted to add creaminess to this dish so I decided to make my own almond cream. If you are vegan you can easily replace the dairy in the almond puree with almond milk or coconut milk.

This really gave the recipe quite a contrast with the vegetables. Green or spring garlic was also a part of this recipe which gives a great punch as well.

Chayote squash is a vegetable that I don’t normally use on a regular basis but the local farm had some great looking ones and they are really great alternatives to the basic yellow and green squash you normally consume. They are very versatile and can be used in a many different ways including grilling, boiling, sauteing, and roasting to name a few.

Here is the recipe for the chayote squash and pea salad, I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients

6 people

Almond Cream

1/2 cup blanched almonds
1 cup milk
2 cups cream
salt to taste

Chayote Squash Salad

3 cups peas blanched
2 cups chayote squash diced and blanched
1/2 cup spring garlic stalks sliced and blanched
3 tbsp sherry vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt and pepper to taste

Green Garlic Sauce

1/2 cup spring garlic blanched
1 cup basil leaves
1 cup water (blanching water)
1 tsp xanthan gum

Garnish

1 oz micro basil
1 oz pea tendrils

Nutritional information

Calories: 385kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 12gFat: 38gSaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 113mgSodium: 353mgPotassium: 426mgFiber: 7gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 2019IUVitamin C: 43mgCalcium: 214mgIron: 2mg

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 15

Total Time 45

Servings 6 people

How to make almond cream

Place almond, cream, and milk in a pot. Bring to a boil and then turn down to light simmer. Simmer for an 45 minutes and strain out the liquid.
Place the almonds into a blender and add roughly 3/4 cup of liquid back into the blender. Blend until completely smooth. Season with salt and set aside to use later.

How to make green garlic sauce

Blanch green garlic tops in salted, boiling water for 45 seconds and shock in ice. Once cooled, strain out any excess water. Measure out a cup of water (you can use the blanching water or ice water. Then add the water, green garlic, basil into a vitamix.
Puree until smooth (20 seconds), while the blender is still going add the xanthum gum until it starts to form some viscosity and thickens slightly. Season with salt and place into a squeeze bottle.

To finish

In the same pot of salted water add a touch more salt and bring back to a boil. In batches blanch the peas if fresh for 1 1/2-2 minutes (if frozen they only need about 5 seconds) then into an ice bath. Then the chayote squash for 2 minutes. And then the green garlic for 45 seconds.
Strain out well so there isn't any water left on the vegetables. Place blanched peas, blanched chayote, and green garlic into a bowl. In a small bowl, combine sherry vinegar, salt, and olive oil and mix well.
Then spoon the vinaigrette over the vegetables, season everything well with salt and pepper, and toss well.
Then using a ring mold add almond butter inside the ring mold. Then on top of the almond cream add the vegetables. Top the vegetables with green garlic sauce, micro basil, and pea tendrils. Take the ring mold away, serve and enjoy!